Dancing House prague

Being one of the few main cities in Europe to escape being destroyed during the world wars, the city of Prague represents ten Centuries in the Architecture. It’s architecture reflects the long history of Europe through the medieval, baroque, gothic and art nouveau periods of architecture... a modern building that the designers wanted to call the “Aistaire and Rogers” building inspired by the famous dancing duo Fred Aistaire and Ginger Rogers. Its deconstructionist architecture and design raised a lot of controversy since it was built in 1995 but now that the emotions have cooled, the locals now call it “the dancing house” if they are on the side of those who now accept it's unique look or, “the drunk house” if your on the side of those who don’t.... hate it or love it it has now become an icon in the city and remember it could have been worse... it could have been built to honor disco instead of the elegance of ball room dancing.... we should also reflect on that even though Fred tends to get the glory for the famous dancing duo...Ginger did what he did backwards and in high heels....

making a list

For those of you who are feeling sorry for us not being at home for Christmas... we do miss you all, however, here are a few pictures of what we are experiencing.... besides the one thing I like about the season is how everyone takes the time to be a little nicer... (may be it is because you-know-who is keeping a list...[no not lord voldemort] ... or may be it is because Christmas is not a time, or a place or a date... but a state of being.....

Marry Styxmass

To all of our friends and Family...
we wish you all a very
Marry Styxmass ....

Whats in a name?

As the name Aja is not that common of a name in Canada...I have been searching around trying to find a little name tag or a mini licence plate on our travels .. But i have not been so lucky here either.... however if any of you are looking for anything like that for your friends with common names like Alois, Antonin, Arnold , Arnost, Artur, Bedrich, Borek, Boris, Bretislav, Bronislav, Cenek, Ctibor, Cyril, Dalibor, Dalimil etc... let me know I think I have found just the right place for you...

Snow train to Prague

Seeing the world from the railway is always great... you get to see the laundry hanging in the back yards, the wood piles, the old cars, the gardens and countless other things that you would never see going down streets in front of the houses... i think it gives a truer picture of how the people live... we are off to Prague traveling through what might be considered a winter wonderland.. except i have read too much about the war and the chill of the eastern front... so i keep flashing between the two worlds... one peaceful and festive the other war-filled and horror... but hey Prague is the home of Franz Kafka so between the two images i should be in great shape to understand his beliefs about his city and him..... "A belief is like a guillotine, just as heavy, just as light... (Kafka) "

Bears

Not far from where the last wild bear was killed in the early 1900's is the famous Cesky Krumlov Castle with its bear moat... The original Gothic fortification had a moat with water and a wooden drawbridge. Under the reign of Wilhelm von Rosenberg in 1707 the original wooden drawbridge gave way (literally) to a stone bridge with statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph to protect the castle. Although back then many believed the statues would be protection enough, others less devout were not so sure, so to shore up the divine protection four bears were put into the moat.. the bear moat has been pretty well kept in operation since then... with a major overhaul in 1999 it was brought up to modern humane standards (I guess that would be bearane standards)... as for the wild bears there is rumor that some bears might now be coming into the Czech republic from Slovakia... a good sign... except lets hope they are not gypsy bears.

Local Foods

The local markets have great looking foods... some of which looks back at you....The Czech food does not get much play in the international cuisine circles which describe Czech food as heavy. The Czech's defend their food by saying it needs to be heavy to be filling because of the long cold winters. It may be heavy but it is tasty with roast pig, duck, goose, sausages, sauerkraut, breads and dumplings. The local guide books say there are only three local vegetables cabbage, the tomato and cucumber, however, i do not think any of those are the secret to their beer making ingredients so they must have a few more local substances that form part of a mixture... unless Budweiser beer is made from tomatoes, cucumber and sauerkraut... you beer drinkers let me know...

Ceske Budejovice

Ceske Budejovice is the last smallish town we will explore the Czech Republic.. Our journeys have mostly been in the south Bohemian region also knows as budweis (its German name) and in case that sounds familiar to any of you it is also the name of a local beer which many of you might know in America as Budweiser beer. The square in this town is bigger than the squares in most cities and, as in most European cities, is set up with a winter market prior to Christmas... complete with an outdoor skating rink, a local market with all the local crafts, local foods and drinks along with an organ grinder with his monkey.... The square houses the local town hall and has four statues on the top which are said to personify the four citizen’s virtues: Fairness, Wisdom, Bravery and Caution... I think that the first three apply to the citizens and the last one was added by the town politicians who usually ran away when people came to try and use steel instead of gold to get the secret of the beer...

Making friends

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."
Tim Cahill

Aja found a like minded, avid reading, talented, new friend in Malaika the granddaughter of a friend of mine from the Yukon. The funny thing is that my Yukon friend Larry had just told his daughter Dawn that Aja and i were doing something very cool a week before we showed up in the Czech Republic... I like this quote about friends by Anais Nin ..."each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive...' exploring worlds is definitely what we are up to...

Some People Townshend

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”... as we wander the world we have found so many trails left by such people... to name a few... A former principal of Maxwell international school near Victoria, Dr. Lee Johnson and his wife ... Tom Garoway a long time friend of James Norquay and Jim Willaby two people i knew and met at the same time... Randy and Oonagh who we met in Israel and invited us to come to Townshend and Dawn whose father i grew up with in the Yukon and three of her children along with Jan Shepphard who i also met in Israel... To have the time to reconnect and hear about the lives and travels of so many people who "did not stay at home" is to begin to understand why Aja and i came on this journey in the first place....

Gypsies / Roma

I have met some of the roma also know by the term gypsy in Hungary...they are an amazing musical, creative and artistic peoples... But i never had a chance to see one of their caravans until the Czech republic....and as you can see from the painting of Vincent van Gogh of a Gypsy Camp near Arles in 1888, their mode of transport has remained basically the same with the passing of time... the roma or gypsy's are a nomadic peoples and have been horribly persecuted since the 12 th century.. currently the Canadian government has slapped visa requirements on the Czech population (even though it is a EU country) because they thought that the Czech government was dumping the Roma into Canada... so of course the Czech government slapped visa requirements on Canadians... which makes it hard for Canadians to stay for extended periods of time in the Czech Republic... As Aja and I continue our nomadic travels I hope for a time when the world wakes up to the fact we are all citizens of one planet and forgets this tiresome tribalism...

Sculpture

A famous Czech artist was approached about doing a design with children for Townshend school, like she had done for a local town... she declined as her daughter had recently passed away and doing another sculpture of a child was too sensitive for her. The school invited her to come see Townshend anyway. After she came and observed the students and experienced the school vision and spirit, she decided to create a sculpture, for free, for what she saw as the spirit of the school..... i think she got it right on.

czech out the picts... http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/

Townsend School

While we were in Israel we met several Bahai's who were working at the Townshend international school and they invited us to come and visit them at the school. Townshend is a private international school inspired on the Baha'i vision of the oneness of the worlds peoples and religions. The school is named after the Irish scholar and former priest George Townshend. Aja and I have been helping with an arts festival, doing art workshops, giving aikido lessons and guest lecturing in classes. It is amazing to be in a school with such a wide variety of young people from so many nations and so many religions... it is great to see and feel the energy of such positive dynamic youth...Aja has made some good friends seen many positive role models... and on top off all the the view from the kitchen is amazing..

Snow At Last

Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
~Bill Morgan, Jr.

The first snow fall is always magic.... it brings out the delight of childhood memories... and even though a part of me now thinks things like... if it snows, will be hard to get around?... how will we get to the bus?.... will the trains be on time?....however, I still love the first snow fall... not so much the second or the third... but for now in this small Czech town I will have a bowl of hot vegetable soup and watch out the window as the flakes drift down ... moments like this are hard to forget... the beauty of nature is hard to beat....

Hluboka nad Vltavou

Hluboká nad Vltavou is a small town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is mostly known for its amazing glass works and its Windsor style Castle. I would like to say we came because the castle was of strategic military, historic or cultural significance, however, we came because he castle was used in Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson's Shanghai Knights. Although the fact that it was the original royal castle of Premysl Otakar II from the second half of the 13th century is pretty cool too if your a local. Sure the history books say he led a cowardly retreat from the Battle of the Marchfeld, after having been defeated by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I... the locals are, however, a bit sensitive about that and describe his retreat as more of a strategic withdrawal..... they seem to know and care about their history back a few centuries more than we we tend to... But hey did I mention Jackie Chan was there

czech town Hosin

Our journeys in the Czech republic have been, for the most part, different than our visits to other European countries... we have focused on the smaller towns rather than the larger tourist cities...When you visit small towns like Hosin you are not exactly sure Where you are or Why you are there or even exactly When you are.. as time does not work like it does in the cities... there is a saying by Paul Theroux who said "tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going." for us traveling the small towns has been much like that.... what we have heard and read about eastern European countries is nothing like the feeling and experience of traveling the back roads and small towns where the people are delightful and real and don't often care about where they are going because, in their minds they are already there.... besides you know what they say about small towns... "when you don't know what your doing, someone else does."

Leaving Budapest

We have loved our time in Hungary... we have seen castles, visited world heritage sites, seen the culture, admired the traditional arts and crafts, tasted of its delights (you should never be hungry in hungary), met many beautiful people, traveled to little towns with the Bahai's, and made many new friends and still there is so much more to see and do...especially since we missed the packed Tom Jones concert... does this town know how to rock or what....proving this is a city worth coming to and returning to, as it always welcomes you back ...And what better way to describe this great city but In the immortal words of Tom Jones "She's a Lady" 1971 and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" 1967... and ok he also said "Love is Fickle" ... but this is a great town...

Outdoor Winter Market

We passed back through Budapest from Israel and arrived just in time for the winter markets.... they set up cottage-style wooden stalls and an outdoor stage in some of the main squares of Budapest...we did not know they were happening but were lured there by the sounds of the performances and the smell of traditional honey cookies, mulled wine, cinnamon and fir. The Hungarian society for the folk arts guarantees all the decorations and products are hand-made and made from traditional materials from traditional techniques... We watched a few cultural dancing and singing programs and walked about in the cold until we gave over to trying some of the traditional Hungarian food and cakes, strudel and grilled sausages... we wanted to try the kurtos kalacs hollow cylinder-shaped pastry with different coatings but the line ups were too long... so we settled for enjoying langos and the atmosphere instead...

p.s. don't forget to check out the picts at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/

The Indoor Market

We really enjoyed our several visits to the grand market to buy fruit, eggs and fresh bread. This large three-floor indoor market is a place where the clamor of tourists meets the daily life of the average resident. It is three floors of everything from the colorful Kalosca embroidery, ceramics, folk art and crafts to Hungarian strudel, fresh baking and fresh, locally grown vegetables and prepared meats; all the things that make Hungary unique. Originally this grand structure incorporated an indoor canal by which goods were delivered to the market's traders and today it is listed as one of the top 10 places to see in Budapest... but it is more than a place to see it is also a place to hear, smell and taste... not really for touch... because signs suggest that if you touch it and broke it, you bought it..

Statues

Statues in Hungary are many and varied in style, purpose and historical significance. Some tell stories, some remind you of stories and the odd one looks like it would appreciate you sitting down and reading it a good story... All part of the charm of Budapest... and of course remember this advice as you begin any enterprise... "Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been put up to a critic." well any that we have seen yet... tyrants, despots but no critics...

staring at the water

Rivers throughout history have been responsible for cities being built and even the odd country...They acted as highways, trade routes, sources of food, and supplied us with water for industry and agriculture. In fact Whitehorse where i was raised was created because the rapids would not let ships pass by... The Danube, which flows through Budapest is known to history as one of the long-standing frontiers of the Roman Empire and has played a major part in the creation of this city. And since the Hungarians are a practical people with sayings like "You can’t cross a river merely by standing and staring at the water" they took the time to build many beautiful bridges to cross over it... we of course did stand on the bridges and just watched the river because we, like Winnie the Pooh said "sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you might suddenly know everything that is to be known." Winnie the Pooh also said “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” we can learn a lot from rivers and small bears.